Defying the Facts: Justice and Being in Speculative Materialism

Quentin Meillassoux claims that physical resurrection of the dead is necessary and sufficient for justice to be realized in the world. This article presents two arguments against Meillassoux’s claim: (1) the permanence argument, which suggests that events of injustice cannot be erased by what happens later, and (2) the priority argument, which suggests that death is not the chief injustice. The article also investigates the consequences of rejecting Meillassoux’s view, asking whether a commitment to justice is still viable if it cannot be fully realized in the world.